SUMMARY: Spouse Visa Processing times OFFSHORE-UK. Please add your Stats.

[kaoticturtle]

Hello. We sent ours out on Wednesday the 8th and heard from our CO on Monday the 14th. She said that the current processing times for partner/family migration is currently 8-9 months due to high volume of applications and only allowing so many to go through at a time. However, and here's the ray of light and hope, she does emphasize that each case is individual and that the process time varies from case to case. Here's hoping and praying that ours isn't long.

 

Thanks Chantel I'll just have to see what we hear once we have a case officer and keep our fingers crossed for a quick turn around!

[Guest rlh115]

My frontloaded application was received on 7 August 2012 and payment was taken on the same day. I had an email from my case officer on 13 August requesting I attend a medical. I also received police certificates and some evidence back in the post. I attended the medical on 15 August and should be received by immigration next week. I was surprised how quickly I progressed to this stage, however I am still to contact my case officer for a realist processing time as my application is obviously complete. However I am not sure why they are saying only a certain number of visas can be granted when these particular visas are not capped like others in the family stream. I am sure I will find out soon, fingers crossed, my partner is in the RAAF and so cannot come to the UK at the moment ashe is on a training exericse Being apart sucks but not knowing when your meeting again is worse!!!

 

Good luck everyone

[landr]

Got our visa!!!

 

Here are the stats i added:

 

Application sent - 09/03/12

Request police check and medicals - 13/03/12

Medical completed - 23/04/12

 

CO SV and told mid august grant. Emailed MT to ask of possible grant and she did 2 days later!

 

Woohhooooo

Edited August 17, 2012 by landr
awful grammar :o)

[kaoticturtle]

Got our visa!!!

 

Here are the stats i added:

 

Application sent - 09/03/12

Request police check and medicals - 13/03/12

Medical completed - 23/04/12

 

CO SV and told mid august grant. Emailed MT to ask of possible grant and she did 2 days later!

 

Woohhooooo

 

Congratulations!!!! :-D

[kaoticturtle]

My frontloaded application was received on 7 August 2012 and payment was taken on the same day. I had an email from my case officer on 13 August requesting I attend a medical. I also received police certificates and some evidence back in the post. I attended the medical on 15 August and should be received by immigration next week. I was surprised how quickly I progressed to this stage, however I am still to contact my case officer for a realist processing time as my application is obviously complete. However I am not sure why they are saying only a certain number of visas can be granted when these particular visas are not capped like others in the family stream. I am sure I will find out soon, fingers crossed, my partner is in the RAAF and so cannot come to the UK at the moment ashe is on a training exericse Being apart sucks but not knowing when your meeting again is worse!!!

 

Good luck everyone

 

That must be really tough but at least the process is underway... Fingers crossed you get a quick grant. Will your partner be able to come over to the UK after her training exercise?

[Anika]

MC has finally allowed me to book flights :-) So last night I booked one way flights for me and my OH for the 13th October, flying from Heathrow to Brisbane on Singapore Airlines A380! Still so much to sort out until then though, it's going to be a busy 8 weeks

[landr]

How exciting!!

 

I can't wait to book flights, that will make it seem more real!

[jimmyay1]

Jobs and waiting for 309/100's !

 

Hi everyone - I realise this may not be the exact correct thread for it but .... i am obviously, like many others on here looking for a spouse visa grant in the next few months . And the job search for those with our type of visa strikes me as a little different to other classes.

 

In a way it is kind of easier for those on company sponsored visas - they at least know what they are going to do when they get there as a job is already sorted and secured in most cases when the visa is granted.

 

For us lot on spousies, i expect that unless we have sorted out a job beforehand, it's quite a leap into the unknown if we are planning to work in Oz that is ( i suspect most are!).

 

Could i ask please what people have done to try and get jobs before they arrive and while they wait for their visa to come ?

 

For example, i can only register on the Australian Govt website if i already have a visa granted (i assume having one "pending" is no good even if you suggest it will be within a couple of months?).

 

Also what do you tell recruiters? "i have appplied for a 100 class visa & have been told it should be granted in x date , take it as gospel and give me a job offer" - is this assurance enough for them to take you seriously?

 

Do they require (or can they get?) any back up from the embassy to confirm they are considering your application & give a "nod and wink"?

 

What websites or recruiters do people generally use?

 

I have to say after checking the web generally and this website i'm really not that much more clued up as to where to start and what to say.

 

Happy to send my resume to employers / recruiters and tell them i plan on coming "soon" visa pending and give a likely date - but i really want to tee things up so i can get work in the next few months whilst waiting for the visa and wondered what others had done.

 

i'm a UK RICS accredited commercial property valuer /manager and am moving to Melbourne - would be grateful if anyone could give a little advice or share their own experiences.

 

many thanks

Edited August 17, 2012 by jimmyay1

[DaveS]

I use http://www.seek.com.au mostly. & Simplyhired.com.au..............

 

I tend to not mention my visa until asked - then say I have a permanent spouse visa (which is a bit of a lie as I have the 309 coming not the 100).

 

I also mention my Australian Wife.

 

Some agents will ignore you, some employers will - but its worth a shot to get applying now. You can at least build up some contacts to spam nearer the time.

 

Jobs and waiting for 309/100's !

 

Hi everyone - I realise this may not be the exact correct thread for it but .... i am obviously, like many others on here looking for a spouse visa grant in the next few months . And the job search for those with our type of visa strikes me as a little different to other classes.

 

In a way it is kind of easier for those on company sponsored visas - they at least know what they are going to do when they get there as a job is already sorted and secured in most cases when the visa is granted.

 

For us lot on spousies, i expect that unless we have sorted out a job beforehand, it's quite a leap into the unknown if we are planning to work in Oz that is ( i suspect most are!).

 

Could i ask please what people have done to try and get jobs before they arrive and while they wait for their visa to come ?

 

For example, i can only register on the Australian Govt website if i already have a visa granted (i assume having one "pending" is no good even if you suggest it will be within a couple of months?).

 

Also what do you tell recruiters? "i have appplied for a 100 class visa & have been told it should be granted in November - December 2012, take it as gospel and give me a job offer" - is this assurance enough for them to take you seriously?

 

Do they require (or can they get?) any back up from the embassy to confirm they are considering your application & give a "nod and wink"?

 

What websites or recruiters do people generally use?

 

I have to say after checking the web generally and this website i'm really not that much more clued up as to where to start and what to say.

 

Happy to send my resume to employers / recruiters and tell them i plan on coming "soon" visa pending and give a likely date - but i really want to tee things up so i can get work in the next few months whilst waiting for the visa and wondered what others had done.

 

i'm a UK RICS accredited commercial property valuer /manager and am moving to Melbourne - would be grateful if anyone could give a little advice or share their own experiences.

 

many thanks

[jimmyay1]

thanks for that Dave, v helpful.

[juliedec]

mc has finally allowed me to book flights :-) so last night i booked one way flights for me and my oh for the 13th october, flying from heathrow to brisbane on singapore airlines a380! Still so much to sort out until then though, it's going to be a busy 8 weeks

 

wonderful news anika ...... Good luck with the move .

[LauraF]

MC has finally allowed me to book flights :-) So last night I booked one way flights for me and my OH for the 13th October, flying from Heathrow to Brisbane on Singapore Airlines A380! Still so much to sort out until then though, it's going to be a busy 8 weeks

 

How long before the 5 months is up do you think I should ask for a date? I want to book flights and get there are soon as possible as we've been apart for nearly 6 months already and there are still 3 months to go until the 5 month mark (which I still hope it will be as I applied in June.)

[Anika]

How long before the 5 months is up do you think I should ask for a date? I want to book flights and get there are soon as possible as we've been apart for nearly 6 months already and there are still 3 months to go until the 5 month mark (which I still hope it will be as I applied in June.)

 

I waited until the 5 months were pretty much up until I asked my CO whether or not my visa was about to be granted because in the past MC has not given much away and seems to stick to the time period provided at the beginning pretty rigidly. When I e-mailed her on Wednesday to ask how much longer I would be waiting she said it would be finalised next week. I then decided to ask whether I could possibly book flights and she said it was fine as long as they weren't for next week. There's no harm in sending your CO an e-mail to ask for a date but be prepared that they might be very vague because they don't really want to be tied down to a specific date in case they can't grant the visa by then.

[SarahRob198]

Well congratulations Anika, your wait is finally over, it seems to be going pretty steady the wait for ours, seems like only yesterday we spent every minute of every day trying to get our heads around all the evidence etc. Before we all know it we'll be sunning it up I'd just let time take it's course, it's not as if the case officer is going to forget about us all if we don't send an email the week before projected grant. All the best Anika and to everyone else too

Edited August 19, 2012 by SarahRob198

[DaveS]

So Lindor and Anika ........... get granted please!

[Guest guest72634]

Help....

Does anyone know what travel insurance I can get. I am flying out on an E-visitor and I might have a few months wait for my spouse visa to be granted. All travel insurances I have seen are either :

must start and finish in UK

or

Ends when you get to your country of emigration.

 

Neither are much help. What have other people done who have gone over on E-visitors?

[maisem]

Hi guys, Just looking at shipping and getting migration flights. All things seem to point to these extra baggage flights being available to people who have unused permanent visas. I'm due to get a 309 which is a temporary visa, so does that mean I will have issues with shipping my household goods and getting these cheaper flights with extra allowance??

 

Anyone had any experience?

 

Cheers.

[Guest GeorgeD]

Hi guys, Just looking at shipping and getting migration flights. All things seem to point to these extra baggage flights being available to people who have unused permanent visas. I'm due to get a 309 which is a temporary visa, so does that mean I will have issues with shipping my household goods and getting these cheaper flights with extra allowance??

 

Anyone had any experience?

 

Cheers.

 

You won't have a problem shipping your goods, but you are unlikely to get the additional baggage allowance for flights. Most airlines only offer this to those with Permanent residency visas which haven't been activated. The 309 isn't permanent unfortunately. I didn't get anything extra. Remember that Emirates have a 30Kg allowance as standard (most others are 20Kg).

[greeneyes]

Hellooo

 

Well it has been a while since I've posted on here but my partner and I have just moved back to Melbourne. I am currently still on an e-visitor as my visa hasn't been granted yet but I e-mailed my case officer (PS) before we left to tell him of our plans and he said he didn't require any further information and reminded me it takes 5-6 months for visas to be granted.

 

I have hardly had any communication with him as I didn't want to hassle him but I've sort of taken this as the green light that we're all good to go and it's now just a case of waiting... is it silly for me to assume this?! I just figured if there was a problem with the application we would have been interviewed or asked to comment on the problems.

 

Getting excited now. And particularly excited to start working I am SO bored at home whilst the boy is out working haha.

[maisem]

You won't have a problem shipping your goods, but you are unlikely to get the additional baggage allowance for flights. Most airlines only offer this to those with Permanent residency visas which haven't been activated. The 309 isn't permanent unfortunately. I didn't get anything extra. Remember that Emirates have a 30Kg allowance as standard (most others are 20Kg).

 

 

Thanks for that George, I can't stop worrying about how to get our stuff there and us lol relief to know it'll be ok to ship our things. As for flights I guess we shall have to cope with the limited bag allowance. Sucks as we have an 8 month old baby boy whom has soooo much stuff, most of which we would like to have as soon as we get to Oz, i'm thinking we may have to spend the extra and fly emirates.

 

Anyone have experience of flying with awkwardly aged children? lol.

[Guest Vixenpops]

Ooooh interesting - I lodged on 9th May had me and my kids medicals on 24th May and received an email from SV on 1st June saying no further information required and that our visas are due for granting mid October

 

Our house is completing 1st October and I have handed my notice in (scary) so I will email her a couple of weeks before and try and get a better idea of a date so we can get the flight booked

 

Nervous but very excited

[Mum of 5]

Hellooo

 

I have hardly had any communication with him as I didn't want to hassle him but I've sort of taken this as the green light that we're all good to go and it's now just a case of waiting... is it silly for me to assume this?! I just figured if there was a problem with the application we would have been interviewed or asked to comment on the problems.

 

 

 

 

 

I am thinking the same way, no news is good news. But I am also wondering has anybody been refused, for the spouse visa that is. I could understand the prospective marriage visa been refused, but has anyone married with kids been refused? We have another 3-4 months to wait, and it's beginning to worry me, I'm not good with sitting back and waiting, I prefer to take a proactive approach and do something, but this is in the laps of the 'visa gods' :arghh:

[Guest Vixenpops]

as far as i know once you have recived the email that says "your documents are complete and have been assessed and your visa is due for granting xxx"

 

You are good to go!!

[Anika]

Just logged on to my e-mail to see that MC has granted my visa! Best day ever!!!!

[DaveS]

Just logged on to my e-mail to see that MC has granted my visa! Best day ever!!!!

 

 

Congrats Anika ;-D